Wednesday, May 30, 2012

By Olivia Lennox - Mildred Burke is hailed by many as one of the greatest ever female wrestlers. She was certainly a pioneer, with a level of muscle development unusual in her time, and a strong determination to popularise women’s wrestling.

Early YearsMildred Burke was born Mildred Bliss, in 1915 in Coffeyville, Kansas. At the age of seventeen, she agreed to marry her then boyfriend, and they moved to Kansas City together. There, Mildred saw her first wrestling event, and her lifelong passion was born. In Kansas, she later met Billy Wolfe, who was the Missouri state wrestling champion, and trained wrestlers at the local YMCA. She pestered Wolfe to teach her to wrestle, and eventually he let her in the ring, but he chose one of his best male fighters to take her on. Her body slammed her hard, but Mildred body slammed him back, pinning him down in the ring. From then on, Mildred knew she wanted to be a wrestler, and Billy Wolfe knew that he wanted to train her. The pair ended up marrying, and having children together.

A Star is BornMildred Burke was a star almost as soon as she began wrestling, with a incredible level of ability, beating both women and men. She wrestled around 200 men during the 1930s and only lost to one of them. Her real achievements, though, were in women’s wrestling. She worked hard to establish the sport and get it accepted. Before Mildred came along, few women wrestled. Some states even outlawed women’s wrestling taking place in front of an audience. Mildred Burke’s tenacity and professionalism encouraged others in to the ring.

Mildred held the women’s wrestling world championship title for fifteen years, becoming the first women’s champion in 1937, beating Clara Mortensen to the title. She began to tour both the US, and the world, entertaining many crowds and making some serious money in the process. By 1951, she was making $50,000 dollars a year. At the time, the average annual salary was around $2,500. For women, it was less than $1,000. Mildred Burke was an unquestionable success.

Mildred attributed her success to her unique ‘alligator clutch’ move. This move, she claimed, won her around 4,000 matches. Despite her success, Mildred was not a large woman. She stood around 5’2” and weighed around 138 pounds. She was the first female wrestler to develop some real, powerful muscles. At one time, the Los Angeles Police Department had a poster of her up in their offices, to remind their police officers to stay in shape. Her figure and appearance were much admired in general too, and she appeared in several magazine features, scantily dressed, pouting provocatively and flexing her muscles. She was voted one of the decade’s best dressed women in the 1940s.Agony and EcstasyDespite her success, Mildred Burke’s life was filled with plenty of personal tragedy and public difficulty. Billy Wolfe was a womaniser who kept company with many of the other female wrestlers he trained. Their marriage broke up in 1952, and Wolfe tried to keep hold of their promotional company and out of the National Wrestling Alliance promotional organisation. They eventually cut a deal, and Mildred started her own company. In return, she waived all alimony, and Wolfe agreed to stay out of wrestling promotions for five years. He didn’t, and more legal wrangling ensued before Mildred’s company went bust in 1953. In 1954, she lost the title in an acrimonious grudge match against another Billy Wolfe protege, June Byers.

Mildred Burke had two children, Violet and Joseph. Violet sadly died aged eighteen, in 1951, while competing in a wrestling match herself. Mildred knew the dangers of wrestling all too well, and suffered serious injuries throughout her career. She had several broken bones, had her thumbs ripped out at the joints, and had all of her teeth knocked out. At one point, she suffered temporary blindness because of wrestling. There are plenty of dangerous jobs around, like being a fire-fighter or carrying out asbestos surveys, but few careers lead to as many serious injuries as Mildred Burke suffered during hers. Despite the physical battering she took, Mildred fought for two decades, for six days each week, for 50 weeks each year. She died from a stroke in 1989, aged 73.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

One of the sexiest muscle women in comics is Caitlin Fairchild. This red-headed powerhouse is not only strong, but smart and the team leader for super group Gen 13. Created by Jim Lee, Brandon Choi and J. Scott Campbell for Wildstorm, a division of Image Comics back in 1994.

Every Superhero has an origin and Fairchild's begins in her Sophomore year at Princeton. Mousy double-major Caitlin Fairchild was recruited into Project: Genesis. What she thought to be a Government internship, was actually a lab experiment for the organization Internal Operations looking to awaken Gen-Active abilities in certain teens.

After being secretly fed drugs to activate her abilities, an outburst of anger Caitlin became her catalyst for growth. Within seconds, the nerdy computer geek transformed into a powerful amazon, gaining super strength, durability, stamina and agility - shredding her clothes in the process. She decided to escape along with friends Roxy, Grunge, Sarah and Bobby. I/O director John Lynch also left to help them set up a safehouse in La Jolla, CA. He would teach these fledgling superheros learn to make a difference in the world. Gen 13 was born.

Over the years, many things have changed with Caitlin Fairchild and Gen 13. They have weathered cancellations and company changes. She has most recently appeared as a supporting character in the new Superboy series and is set to star in yet another team book called “The Ravagers”.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

From: Moscow, Russia currently residing in Anchorage, AlaskaCompetes in: Bikini DivisionOccupation: Procurement Specialist for major oil companyEducation: Bachelors in Management and Marketing. Pursuing Master in Business Management and Administration.

When I was younger I was never interested in sports. I lived in Moscow, Russia until I was about 15 years old and spent most my spare time behind the piano or singing. I did not gain passion for fitness until I moved to Alaska and did my first high school bodybuilding show in 2006. It was a total accident! My friend said to me “There is this bodybuilding thing next month, want to compete with me?” I did and at my very first competition placed 3rd in my class. I came back next year and won the Overall title. I continued training and in the fall won the 2007 NPC Crystal Cup Overall Junior Figure Title.

Your Advice for someone to begin training?
Just do it. It’s going to be hell, it’s going to be hard, but worth every minute. My best friend used to come to all my shows and always said “someday…”. In 2010 she hit the stage 90 pounds lighter, placed in her class and qualified for nationals. Her life forever changed and it’s amazing what it did to her self-confidence and overall attitude.

My coworker, after 3 months of watching me, finally said “Hey, you think you can help me out here? I just wanna lose 10-15 pounds,”. He is 30 pounds down, still working hard, still hitting the gym!

Stop making excuses and start doing. I have a full time job, a full time MBA student and I still find time to compete. Being busy is not an excuse. “It doesn’t matter how slow you go, so long as you don’t stop”- Confucius

Monday, May 21, 2012

Takako Kikuchi surprised the Japanese bodyfitness community in 2011 by winning the All Japan title after only 12 months of serious training. Here's a possible glimpse of Takako after 12 more months of training?

Friday, May 18, 2012

Few women have the genetics, drive or pharmaceutical help needed to go really big. Female bodybuilder Aleesha Young isn't one of those. Here's massive Aleesha posing with a little help from a magical mirror… made right here at Area Orion.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Ms Olympia female bodybuilder Iris Kyle to star in first movie
MASSIVE female bodybuilder IRIS KYLE is following in the footsteps of her male counterpart Arnold Schwarzenegger by starring in her first full-length movie. Female musclewoman Iris, who has won the sport's top honour the Ms Olympia competition SEVEN times (Schwarzenegger also bagged seven Mr Olympias), will play faded pro bodybuilder Dina in the movie We Are Sisyphos.

Filming Now Begun For Jodie Marsh Bodybuilding Show
That’s right, famous UK female glamour model, Jodie Marsh (33) has fans hitting jaw dropping poses once again as filming begins for her latest reality TV bodybuilding show documenting her training and fitness regime ready for her bodybuilding contest prep in 2012.

Bodybuilding granny steps up training for Miss Olympia titleA grandmother who is currently ranked the fourth best female bodybuilder in the world, is putting herself through a grueling training regime in a bid to be crowned Miss Olympia. Sharon Madderson, 46, from Cramlington in Northumberland took up the competitive sport 16 years ago after meeting her husband Graham at her local gym.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

From MTV - Joss Whedon would like to see
more female heroes in "The Avengers 2." So why not She-Hulk? Introduced
as Bruce Banner’s cousin who receives his powers after a blood
transfusion, Jennifer Walters would be an easy introduction to the
Avengers crew. As a reluctant hero forced into her powers before
eventually using them transform her own personality for the better,
she’s got an interesting personal story, and the built-in connection
between her and Banner would be great for on-screen chemistry.

First off: She-Hulk should be cast as Jennifer Walters first and a
giant green rage monster second. I mean, there are some very tall and
statuesque models out there, but it’s not like Mark Ruffalo was a
bodybuilder. We’ll need someone who’s believable as the sweet-natured
but unyielding Walters, the one who moonlights as a capable lawyer when
she isn’t busting heads as the She-Hulk. Here are five actors we think
might work.

Amy AdamsAny actress who plays She-Hulk has to work as the meeker Walters before
flipping on the confidence as her greener alter-ego. Adams, who you know
from movies as sweet as "Enchanted" and as tough as "The Fighter," is a
world-class actress who’s played a variety of roles, and would be
capable of capturing Shulkie’s duality. If you don’t think she can do
badass, then you must’ve missed the scene in "The Fighter" where she gives hell to a bunch of rednecks.

Olivia ThirlbySame for Thirlby, who’s acted with a bold confidence in movies like
"Juno" and "The Wackness." If they decided to cast Bruce Banner’s cousin
a little more college-aged -- a law student rather than a full-blown
lawyer -- then Thirlby, with her peppy demeanor and brassy smile, would
be perfect in contrast to Ruffalo’s seriousness.

Jennifer CarpenterAs Debra Morgan on "Dexter," Carpenter is frequently called upon to kick
ass while showing vulnerability and deep gravitas. She does well, too,
because only a good actress could work with the crazy places that show
goes. Her ability to play a tomboy wouldn’t be a bad approach to the
physically imposing She-Hulk, either.

Jessica BielDepending on how you feel about "The Illusionist," Biel isn’t explicitly
known for her acting chops. But she’s logged time playing a stone-cold
serious action type in movies like "The A-Team" and "Blade: Trinity,"
and is easy to imagine in both a suit and a leotard for the dual role. I
might be making too much of this thing, too -- all we need is someone
who looks good and can act solidly without ruining the mix. So why not?

Adrianne PalickiShe was already supposed to play Wonder Woman. Minus the over self-seriousness, isn’t this pretty close?

These are MTV's choices. Who would you cast as She-Hulk, assuming the muscle would be CGI?